


Treacherous

by benjji2795



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Dex and Nursey are my wonderfully oblivious idiots, Fake Dating, M/M, and terrible at letting each other know, completely in love with each other, fake boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-15 09:15:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5780155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjji2795/pseuds/benjji2795
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>One day, he was talking to his mom, and she had the poor sense to ask Derek if he and Dex were dating (“You talk about him </em>so much<em>.  It makes a mother wonder…”).  Derek’s brain completely short-circuited at the implication, his mouth disconnecting and making strange noises that sounded a lot more like a confirmation rather than a denial, and by the time he’d regained the ability to use words, his mom was saying she couldn’t wait to meet Dex that weekend during Parents’ Weekend, and then hung up.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Treacherous

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silentghosts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentghosts/gifts).



> So in the process of coming up with this fic, I actually ended up getting significant progress on at least one of the other prompts you gave me, before getting stuck on it and this one ended up happening. So...I'll be holding onto that and working to finish it later because I loved the idea I just...need more time to get it figured out lol and it probably won't be posted until after the exchange is over (but I'll make sure to tag you). Hope you enjoy this one first though :)
> 
> Title from the Taylor Swift song.

It was a problem, the way Dex turned Derek into a complete dipshit.  Dex made him want to write cheesy romantic poems, something he’d always hated, and made him feel completely unchill like no one else had before.  Truth was, Derek was more than a little smitten with the fiery boy that was William Poindexter.  He drove Derek completely crazy and made it hard to think whenever he was around.  But so far, that hadn’t gotten Derek into trouble, despite the fact that they shared an apartment.

 

And then, one day, he was talking to his mom, and she had the poor sense to ask Derek if he and Dex were dating (“You talk about him _so much_.  It makes a mother wonder…”).  Derek’s brain completely short-circuited at the implication, his mouth disconnecting and making strange noises that sounded a lot more like a confirmation rather than a denial, and by the time he’d regained the ability to use words, his mom was saying she couldn’t wait to meet Dex that weekend during Parents’ Weekend, and then hung up.

 

Derek—he wasn’t quite sure how to correct his mom.  Wasn’t even sure he even wanted to correct her.  The idea of forcing Dex to pretend they were dating was—alright, it was stupid.  Dex would never agree to it and he really should’ve called his mom back and explained his mistake.  But—he thought, as he wandered out to their apartment’s living room, that maybe, it couldn’t hurt to ask Dex if he’d be willing to play along, right?

* * *

 

“You want me to do _what_?!” Dex shrieked, his face flushing to an impressively dark shade of red in mere milliseconds.

 

Okay, so in hindsight, maybe he should’ve just called his mom back and not told Dex about the mix-up.  If he had taken even a second to think about it, he would’ve realized that Dex—a straight-as-a-board guy with a Republican sticker on his laptop—ever considering being his pretend boyfriend was actually a pretty laughable idea.  But he hadn’t taken any time to think about it and he was here, he’d already told Dex, and well, Dex hadn’t immediately refused, so—there wasn’t any sense in giving up until Dex had told him no (like Derek knew he would). 

 

“My mom thinks you’re my boyfriend and she’s coming this weekend and—I think we should pretend while she’s here,” Derek repeated, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing.

 

“What—wait, where did she ever get that idea?” Dex asked, his face continuing to darken as he leapt up and paced across the floor of the living room.

 

“Apparently I talk about you a lot,” Derek’s mouth said without permission from his brain.  Sure, he did talk about Dex a lot, but there was no reason Dex needed to know that.  Derek was sure he was going to get chirped, but instead Dex’s face, impossibly, turned a few shades darker.

 

“What can you even tell her about me?  All we do is bicker,” Dex pointed out, mumbling and having the nerve to be the one to act more embarrassed by Derek’s admission.

 

Derek shrugged.  “I don’t know man, I don’t remember every conversation I’ve ever had with my mother.  But we live in the same space.  It’s hard to avoid talking about you.”

 

“Alright fine.  That’s fair,” Dex huffed.  “But why didn’t you tell her we weren’t?”

 

Derek shrugged again, because he didn’t have an answer.  Or at least, not one that didn’t come down to _“I didn’t tell her no because I like you and I like the idea of us dating”_.

 

“It’s just a day and a half,” he said instead.

 

“I—I get that, but why the fuck do you want to do this?  Why not just call her and admit that you messed up?” Dex questioned, and Derek was afraid that Dex was seeing right through him. 

 

That’s because the answer was that he didn’t want to call his mom and explain; he wanted to do this, if only for the selfish reason of being able to say that, for a day and a half, Dex was his boyfriend.  To have something he can hold onto on the days in the future when it hit him the hardest that he and Dex would never be anything but friends; something that seemed to be happening to him more and more often recently.

 

It was like that’s what Dex wanted him to admit, but rather than say anything to force his hand, rather than pushing him until he cracked, Dex just looked at him, and he seemed to be both curious and confused.  Not angry, not embarrassed, not frustrated.  Just—mostly confused.  Along with a strange something in Dex’s eyes that Derek didn’t think he’d ever seen before.

 

“You didn’t hear her voice on the phone,” Derek answered after a long beat that he hoped Dex didn’t notice.  “She’s been like bugging me about dating and finding someone for ages and she was just so excited for me and like, I hate the idea of disappointing her.”

 

Dex was quiet for a few minutes, concentrating hard; Derek recognized the face from whenever Dex was working on his CS homework.

 

“ _Fuck_ , okay,” Dex sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.  “ _Fine_ , I’ll do it.  But you owe me for like, the rest of your life.”

 

Dex said something else after that, but Derek was too busy reeling from the shock of Dex actually agreeing to be his fake boyfriend.  That was, honestly, an…well, Derek knew there were many possible outcomes, and he’d managed to think through most of them as the conversation wore on, but Dex saying anything other than no to his (frankly) ridiculous proposal—that wasn’t something he’d accounted for.

 

“Earth to Nursey,” Dex said, waving a hand in front of his face.

 

“I’m sorry, what?” Derek said, knowing that his voice sounding as dazed as he felt.  Dex rolled his eyes and shoved him.

 

“Bro, I was saying that you shouldn’t expect me to kiss you or do any over-the-top shit like that,” Dex repeated, and Derek nodded his head rapidly in agreement, swallowing thickly.  That was the one thing Derek didn’t want to do.  As long as they didn’t kiss, Derek could keep his feelings in check.  Maybe.  He hoped.

 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t make you do that,” Derek laughed nervously.  “I’m sure someone like you would probably like to go their whole lives without kissing another guy.”

_“Someone like me?”_ Dex snapped, offended.

 

“Well, you are a straight Republican bro,” Derek explained.  Derek had been poking Dex on this issue almost from the moment he saw the sticker on his laptop.

 

“I know you think that makes me some kind of homophobic asshole, but I’m not,” Dex retorted, clearly frustrated.

 

“Dude, have you heard the things Republicans say about gay people?  It’s hard not to assume that you’re just like them,” Derek shrugged; it _was_ almost wholly the reason Derek thought Dex would say no to pretending to be his boyfriend.

 

“I’m not like them,” Dex countered.  “Do you think I’d have agreed to be your fake boyfriend if I was?”

 

“You never know man,” Derek replied coolly.

 

“Look—I’m a Republican only because—well, I really don’t expect you to understand,” Dex sighed, giving Derek a look that meant Dex was done talking about it.  “I’ve got homework.  You need to leave me alone for a while.”

 

Derek nodded and stood up.  “I guess I’ll see you later, _boyfriend_ ,” he joked.

 

“Fuck off Nurse,” Dex replied flippantly as Derek walked out back to his bedroom.

 

On the way back to his own room, now that his brain was back to somewhat functioning again with a wall between him and Dex, it occurred to Derek, for the first time in all of this, that maybe this was a horrible idea.  How the fuck was he supposed to make real emotions come across as fake?  Because if Dex realized he wasn’t really pretending, he was _so_ fucked.

 

Derek reversed course, quickly exiting their apartment to head for the Haus instead of going to his room.  He desperately needed advice on how to deal with this.  Bitty would probably have something to say that might help him.

 

“I fucked up Bitty,” Derek sighed without fanfare immediately upon entering the Haus, plopping down heavily at the kitchen table.

 

“Oh goodness!” Bitty startled, nearly dropping the pie tin he had in his hands.  “Nursey I—I didn’t expect anyone to be here.”

 

“Sorry Bits,” Derek mumbled, moving to stand up.  “I guess I’ll just go then.”

 

“No, no, you can stay, it’s fine,” Bitty urged, setting down the tin and reaching for the cupboards to, Derek assumed, grab a plate.  “I mean, I wasn’t doin’ anythin’ where I needed to be alone, so you’re welcome to stay.”

 

Derek sat back down while Bitty fixed up a slice of pie and sat it down in front of him.

 

“Now why don’t you tell me what’s goin’ on,” Bitty said, returning to whatever it was he had been working on before.

 

“I—my mom called,” Derek began.  Bitty hesitated minutely before humming to indicate he was following.  “And she uh—she assumed that Dex and I were dating.”

 

“Lord, where would she get that idea?” Bitty exclaimed, his wooden spoon clattering against the side of the metal bowl as he lost his handle on it.  “I’m sorry, but the way y’all are with each other, I can’t even picture it.”

 

As a whole, Derek decided Bitty’s reaction was fairly tame and made sense, considering the statement.

 

“I don’t know,” Derek mumbled, feeling his face start to flush in mortification of explaining what happened next out loud.  “But I sorta didn’t correct her?”

 

“Sorta?”

 

“I was too shocked to really reply, and I guess she took that to mean that we were?  And then she hung up before I could correct her,” Derek continued.

 

“Well I could see how that would be embarrassin’, but—”

 

“It gets worse,” Derek lamented, leaning forward to rest his head on the table, wishing that the ground would just swallow him up.

 

“You didn’t—” Bitty gasped, covering his mouth in shock.

 

“I did,” Derek murmured.  “A-and I—I convinced him to fake it for my mom.”

 

“ _Nursey_ ,” Bitty said, his big brown eyes going wide.

 

“That’s not why I’m fucked though,” Derek exhaled softly.  “I—I actually l-like Dex, Bitty.  And after this weekend—I think he’s going to figure it out.  I can’t—I don’t think I can do this without being super obvious about it.”

 

“So you just call your mom back and explain the mix-up,” Bitty suggested, sitting down next to Derek and rubbing his back comfortingly.

 

“I’m not sure that I can,” Derek said in a small voice.  “I—I just want this with him so bad, even if it’s just for a short time.”

 

“Nurse—Derek, sweetheart,” Bitty replied softly, sighing.  “I understand how you feel, I really do.  And I know I can’t tell you what to do, but just—honey, I’m feelin’ like there’s too much at stake for you to go through with this.  You and Dex still have to play together for two more years and that’s—it’ll be really hard when you an’ Dex have somethin’ like this hangin’ over you.  Plus you’re _livin’_ with him.”

 

“But Dex will think I’m being weird now if I tell him I don’t want to do it!” Derek protested.  Actually he didn’t know if Dex would or not, but after he went through the trouble to convince him to do it, suddenly backing out would probably look—suspicious; maybe more so than simply going through it.

 

“Like I said, it ain’t my decision,” Bitty shrugged, giving Derek a gentle pat on the back as he stood up.  “I’m just sayin’ you should think about the potential consequences more.”

 

“Thanks Bitty,” Derek said, before snatching up a fork in his endeavor to drown his conflicting feelings in pie.

* * *

But Derek kept thinking about it, waffling back and forth on what to do, unable to make a decision until time made it for him.  He just kept waiting, until it was Saturday morning, and his mom would be arriving any minute.  He couldn’t back out now.  So he stood inside by the front door of their apartment, a vibrating bundle of nerves while Dex stood calmly next to him, somehow completely chill for maybe the first time in the time Derek had known him, something he found to be strangely uncharacteristic of Dex, given the situation.  It was a fact that Dex was enjoying way too much.

 

“Nurse,” Dex said, pausing and turning towards him with a giant smirk on his face.  _“Chill.”_

 

“Could you not be so fucking smug about this?” Derek grumbled, flipping Dex off before crossing his arms petulantly.

 

“Payback’s a bitch,” Dex shrugged, knocking into Derek playfully.

 

“I fucking hate you,” Derek muttered, scowling at Dex.

 

“Is that any way to be talking to your boyfriend?” Dex asked jokingly.

 

“It is when he’s being a smug asshole,” Derek quipped.  Despite Dex’s attitude, Derek was starting to relax a little.  This—the two of them needling each other—was familiar territory.  That was, however, interrupted by his mom knocking on the door.  Derek jumped, causing Dex to snicker quietly at him; but in his defense, he hadn’t even seen her car pull up, he was so busy bickering with Dex.

 

“My _God_ , I think you’ve gotten a whole foot taller since the last time I saw you!” his mom exclaimed, coming up to hug him when they opened the door. 

 

“Hi mom,” was all he said, hugging her back gently.  When she pulled away, she turned to Dex (who had a strange little grin on his face) and smiled.

 

“And this must be the infamous Dex,” she said, reaching out to hug him too.

 

“ _Infamous_?” Dex said, pretending to sound like he was wounded as he returned the embrace.  “Nurse, what the fuck have you been telling her about me?”

 

“He hasn’t said anything bad about you,” his mom assured Dex, patting him on the shoulder gently.  “At least, he hasn’t since freshman year.  Back then, Derek was calling almost every day to bitch about his D-man partner that ‘just needs to like, fucking chill, mom’.”

 

“ _Mom_!” Derek hissed, his face flushing rapidly.  Dex didn’t need to know that he’d been calling his mom, telling her about him almost every day from the first day they met.  That—that definitely looked—some kind of way that Derek really didn’t need it to right now.

 

But Dex just laughed, much to Derek’s bewilderment.

 

“Yeah, we haven’t always been good at getting along, but I was stuck with him as my partner on the ice, so we figured it out, you know?” Dex explained as he led both him and his mom deeper into their apartment.

 

“And now look at you two,” she beamed.

 

“And now look at us,” Dex repeated, throwing an arm around Derek’s shoulders and smiling at him—fondly?  Yeah, that was definitely a fond smile.  Which...that was different.  After a moment of awkward smiling at each other, his mom cleared her throat.

 

“Now, if you could just point me towards the room where I’ll be staying, that would be greatly appreciated,” she said, holding up her bag.  “Mind you, it’s not heavy, but I’d prefer not to lug it around all morning.”

 

“Oh, uh, yeah mom,” Derek replied, biting his lip anxiously.  “It’s um, down the hall, first door on your left—”

 

He didn’t finish because Dex had started painfully squeezing his shoulder, but thankfully she didn’t notice, disappearing down the hallway for a brief second before returning.

 

“Campus just looked absolutely lovely on the drive in,” she declared, grinning.  “How about you two show me around, give me the grand tour.”

 

“Absolutely Mrs. Nurse,” Dex said, smiling again, though Derek could see that this one was forced, in contrast to the easy smile he was displaying earlier.

 

“Dear, you can call me Cassie,” she chuckled.  “The only person who calls me Mrs. Nurse is my mother-in-law and, between us, she’s not the most pleasant woman to deal with and I’d rather not be reminded of her.”

 

“My dad always says the same thing about his mother-in-law,” Dex replied, chortling.  “Why don’t you go and wait out on the porch while Nursey and I grab our coats.  We’ll be out in a second.”

 

Derek gave her a pleading look that she caught, nodded at and then left.  Dex turned on him menacingly once the door latched shut.

 

“You didn’t tell me she was staying in _your room_ ,” Dex remarked angrily.

 

“I didn’t know she was going to stay with us at all,” Derek responded weakly.  He really didn’t.  She always stayed at hotels when she went places.  This wasn’t his fault!

 

“But your parents are like, loaded.  Why isn’t she staying at a hotel?” Dex asked.

 

“I don’t know!” Derek said, starting to feel panicked.  _Fuck_ , this was bad.  They might have to share a bed and that—that wasn’t going to end well.  “She didn’t say anything and she always does, so I— _shit_ , I thought she was!”

 

“What are we going to do?”

 

“I guess I’ll just have to sleep on the floor of your room tonight,” Derek answered quickly.  Derek was fairly certain that was the only thing they could do about it besides actually sleeping in the same bed, which of course, was a terrible idea.

 

“We have a game tomorrow, you dumbass, you can’t sleep on the floor,” Dex retorted firmly.  “Just take the couch.”

 

“That’ll _definitely_ tip my mom off that this is all just a ruse,” Derek answered exasperatedly.

 

Dex exhaled unsteadily, rubbing at his eyes harshly.

 

“Alright fine, I guess we’ll have to share my bed.   _BUT_ —if you fucking spoon me, I swear to God I will kill you,” Dex stated as he yanked the entry closet open and pulled out their coats.

 

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to,” Derek mumbled as Dex grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.  When Dex didn’t make a move to pull away, Derek twined their fingers together, holding Dex’s hand as they walked.  Derek was too busy trying to control the feeling of his heart pounding out of his chest, so it was Dex who asked, “Cassie, what would you like us to show you first?”

* * *

 

Dex, it turned out, was a phenomenal actor.  The fact that they looked like a convincing couple had everything to do with Dex.  The entire morning, there didn’t seem to be a single moment where Dex appeared to be uncomfortable, even though Derek knew—well, _figured_ he was.  And while Dex was relaxed and acting like the two of them holding hands was a normal, everyday thing, Derek could not seem to find his chill, too preoccupied with the fact that it _wasn’t_ a normal, everyday thing.  At least his mom was too enchanted by Dex to notice.

 

Afternoon granted reprieve, as all the parents on campus attended some kind of—seminar?  Derek hadn’t really paid that close attention to know for sure what was happening.  All he knew was that while his mom was at that thing, whatever it was, he was going to the Haus to try and unwind a little.

 

He went inside and immediately began raiding the fridge for a pie—or something sweet.  Something that he could eat that would hopefully make some of his stress go away.

 

“It’s goin’ that badly?” Bitty asked sympathetically, upon seeing Derek’s almost frantic rummaging.

 

“Hey, uh,” Derek said, bolting upright in surprise, narrowly avoiding banging his head on the roof of the refrigerator.  “It’s um—well, I uh guess you could say that,” Derek sighed, walking over and slumping down at the table as Bitty took pity on him and began fixing up a plate of baked goods.  “Dex—if I didn’t know any better, you’d think that he actually _is_ my boyfriend.  Honestly, I’m not sure I _do_ know any better.  It— _fuck_ , Bitty, he’s so good at acting like he’s my boyfriend that it feels real to me.  And whenever I start feeling like that, I—I remember that it’s not real and I—it makes me want to cry.  Shit, why did I think this was a good idea?”

 

“I don’t know,” Bitty said, setting the now baked-good-loaded plate in front of him.  “But of course, it ain’t too late to tell your mama the truth.

 

“It’s—this isn’t about her.  Or at least, it’s not anymore.  I’m just…fucked no matter what happens the rest of this weekend,” Derek answered, sounding frighteningly hysterical to his own ears.  He stopped and took a deep breath; coming completely unglued was _not_ going to help him here.

 

“Has he figured it out yet?” Bitty asked, joining Derek at the table.

 

“I don’t think so,” Derek answered around a mouth of pie.  “I uh…I think I’ve been too tense all morning to show anything but—maybe that’s giving me away too.”

 

“If he don’t know anythin’, then you’re still good,” Bitty replied.

 

“But my mom is staying with us and—that means Dex and I have to, you know, share his bed,” Derek continued.  “And I just _know_ I’m gonna cuddle or spoon him or do some shit like that in my sleep and it’s gonna creep him out.”

 

“Sweetheart, relax,” Bitty chuckled softly, comfortingly putting a hand on his shoulder.  “You can’t be held responsible for the things you do in your sleep.”

 

“Yeah,” Derek said, breathing deeply again.  “Yeah, okay, I guess you’re right.  I know I should’ve listened to you earlier but.  Thanks for, you know, still listening to me.  And helping me out.”

 

“Of course Nursey,” Bitty replied warmly.

 

Derek sat with Bitty in the kitchen while he got to work baking pies for the hockey parents to take home, enjoying the relative quiet, the only noises being Bitty’s soft music and the dings and clinks of cooking utensils.  He didn’t go back to his and Dex’s apartment until just before his mom was supposed to get back.  He didn’t know what Dex had been doing all afternoon, but what he found was certainly not something he was expecting.

 

Dex was humming quietly to himself while in the seldom-used kitchen in their apartment.  He was making—well, it wasn’t anything impressive, just spaghetti, but Dex was _cooking_.  Plus there was a batch of cookies sitting out on wire cooling racks (Derek didn’t even know they _had_ wire cooling racks).  Derek stopped in his tracks and stared for a minute—or it could’ve been five, he wasn’t sure.  He didn’t mean to stare.  It’s just.  Dex.  Being all domestic and shit.  That was— _fuck_ , that was really attractive.

 

“I know we’re both hockey players and that the cold doesn’t really bother us, but I’m sure your mother would appreciate the apartment being somewhat warm by the time she gets back,” Dex remarked, a light tone to his voice as he looked back at Derek over his shoulder.  Dex’s voice was enough to snap Derek out of his haze and he quickly pulled the door shut behind him.

 

“Cooking, hmm?  We’re really going all out, rolling out the red carpet for her.  You know she’s going to start expecting this from us every time she visits,” Derek chirped as a distraction, mostly for himself, hoping that Dex wouldn’t notice the pinkness to his cheeks (or at least attribute it to the chilly air outside), or the fact that he had used _us_ instead of _me_.

 

“I like your mom.  She’s pretty cool and I—I just wanted to do something nice for her.  And besides, she thinks I’m your boyfriend.  I can’t have her thinking that I don’t know how to take care of you,” Dex replied, having the audacity to say that and then _blush_ , and Derek swore he was about to fucking swoon.  _Swoon_.  He wasn’t a southern belle, _what the fuck?_ What the hell did Dex think he was doing?

 

For an awkward moment, Derek didn’t dare to move, afraid that he would actually fall, his legs felt so weak, and they just stood there, blushing at each other in silence, but that was soon broken by Derek’s mom knocking on the door.

 

“I got it,” Derek mumbled, finally getting his legs underneath him and quickly turning away to open the door as his cheeks flushed darker.

* * *

 

Derek’s mom was certainly impressed by Dex’s meal, even if it was something simple that almost all hockey players knew how to make.  She was probably mostly impressed that Dex took the effort to cook, rather than the meal itself.

 

“It was nothing,” Dex had shrugged humbly as he cleared the dishes off the table and—Derek couldn’t help the hearts in his eyes.

 

“I don’t know about you boys, but I think I’d just like to spend the evening in,” his mom yawned, stretching as she stood up from the table.  “How would you feel about a movie?”

 

“Yeah, sure, sounds great mom,” Derek replied as he trailed Dex into the kitchen to help him wash the dishes.  “I think she likes you better than me now,” he said once the water was running and mostly covered their voices.

 

“She does not, shut the fuck up,” Dex said, swatting him with the dish rag he was holding, and Derek giggled.

 

Looking at Dex, his face slightly flushing as he scrubbed the plates, the two of them together the perfect picture of domesticity, Derek was once again hit harshly upside the head with the knowledge that this was all just a charade, and while all of his feelings were real, Dex’s just weren’t.

 

“It’s gonna crush her when she finds out this wasn’t real,” Derek sighed.  He needed to say it out loud, to give himself a stronger reminder of what this was.

 

“You’re actually going to tell her?” Dex asked, astonished.

 

“Well, not while she’s still here obviously,” Derek explained.  “And I don’t know if I’ll tell her _that_ , but you know, I’ll have to tell her _something_ happened.  That we like, broke up, or whatever.”

 

“Oh, right, of course,” Dex replied quietly.  “I’m uh, done with these so just, rinse and dry.  We’ll put them back later,” he added before rapidly slinking out of the kitchen.  Derek blinked, glancing at the spot where Dex had been standing.  That was...odd.  It was almost like what he’d said had upset Dex.  Which would mean—and no, he wasn’t going there because.  That couldn’t possibly be right.  He probably just like—got something in his eye and needed to go to the bathroom—or something like that.

 

He finished up drying the dishes and put them away, even though Dex said he didn’t have to.  He could handle it, he knew where everything went, _thank you very much._   By the time he went back out into the living room, he found his mom sprawled out on the couch and Dex sitting on the only other piece of furniture in their living room, a tiny armchair.

 

Dex shrugged sheepishly and then patted his lap, motioning for Derek to come over.

 

“You’re not transparent as you think you are mom,” Derek grumbled, awkwardly trying to perch on the armrest.

 

“Wasn’t trying to be,” his mom sang as Dex snagged his arm.

 

“Actually sit on my lap, idiot,” Dex whispered, tugging on his arm gently.  Derek was suddenly overwhelmed by exhaustion over the day’s events and didn’t really have the will to argue, so he just did as he was told, stiffly curling up on Dex’s lap as he put up the footrest.

 

“Just so you know, she’s going to insist on watching some sappy romance movie,” Derek murmured, fighting the urge to nuzzle his head in Dex’s neck as Dex curled an arm around him.

 

“Just as long as it’s not _The Notebook_ ,” Dex chuckled under his breath.  “Thanks to my sisters, I’ve seen that movie too many times to count.”

 

“How does _Titanic_ sound to everyone?” his mom interrupted.  Derek figured she would probably choose that one; it was both his and his mom’s favorite movie, not that he’d ever admit that to Dex.

 

“Sure,” Dex answered amiably while Derek feigned indifference.  “God, don’t tell me you’re too hipster to watch _Titanic_ ,” Dex rolled his eyes.

 

“Trust me dear, he’s not,” his mother laughed.  “He just wants you to think he is.  It’s really his favorite movie.”

 

“Traitor,” Derek grumbled, "Already selling out all my secrets to Dex."

 

That made both Dex and his mom giggle at him as the movie started playing (and _wow_ , would he love to make Dex giggle again).

* * *

It _was_ his favorite movie, but Derek was just so drained, he was fast asleep with his head on Dex’s shoulder by the time the _“draw me like one of your French girls, Jack”_ scene happened.  And he slept until sniffling close to his ear him woke him up.

 

 _“…there’s a boat Jack…”_ the TV echoed as he shifted slightly.

 

“No, go back to sleep,” Dex whispered, using a hand to cover Derek’s eyes.

 

_“I’ll never let go Jack…”_

Sniffle _._

 

“Are you crying Dex?” Derek questioned.

 

“Shut up, I said go back to sleep.”

 

“Oh my God, you’re crying, that’s adorable,” Derek said sleepily.

 

“Oh whatever,” Dex said dismissively, but from his head’s place on Dex’s shoulder, Derek could feel the heat of Dex’s blush radiating off his face.  Derek snuggled closer to him; figuring that if Dex wanted to get pissed at him for that later, he could blame it on his sleepy haze and the fact that Dex was a surprisingly comfortable pillow, and probably get away with it.

 

He managed to stay awake enough to watch the rest of the movie, after which they all went to their rooms.  Derek walked into Dex’s room and was immediately struck by how small his bed looked.  Logically, it was the same size as his, and he shouldn’t have been caught off-guard but.  There wasn’t much space for them to share.  Their beds barely fit them individually.

 

“You sure you don’t want me to take the floor?” Derek inquired, looking questioningly between Dex and the bed.

 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Dex answered, shifting back and forth on his the balls of his feet uncomfortably.  “We’ll—I guess we’ll have to spoon to fit but that’s.  That’s okay.  It’s just what we have to do, right?”

 

“Right man, it’s totally chill.  However you want to do it,” Derek replied.  It was—well it was strange that Dex seemed to be fine with what they did while watching the movie but wasn’t comfortable with spooning but.  Derek guessed that it was a different situation.  Spooning was a lot more...well, intimate.  So he understood.

 

Dex exhaled, visibly more relaxed as he gestured for Derek to climb in under the covers, which he did without hesitation.  Derek shivered when he felt Dex press up against his back, loosely hanging an arm over his stomach as his breaths ghosted over the back of Derek’s neck.  It was.  _Fuck_ , this was really comfortable and he...he wished that this wasn’t going to be the only time it was ever going to happen.

 

“G’night Nursey,” Dex mumbled.  Derek hummed in acknowledgement and not long after that, Dex was snoring softly.

 

Derek wanted to stay awake, savor the moment for as long as possible, but it was just.  Too much.  He fell asleep not long after Dex.

* * *

Derek woke up alone.

 

He groaned, rubbing at his eyes.  Dex probably flipped out the second he woke up, but at least Derek wasn’t responsible, since Dex was the one who suggested they do it in the first place.

 

Derek blearily stumbled out to the kitchen and was immediately hit by the smell of coffee and bacon.

 

“Morning Nursey,” Dex said quietly, pressing a mug into his hands.

 

Derek sniffed the air again, just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.  “You’re cooking again?” he asked, hopping up onto one of the kitchen counters.

 

“Just thought your mom might like a breakfast that wasn’t cereal,” Dex shrugged, poking at the eggs and bacon strips.

 

Derek hummed in agreement, taking in the scene in front of him.  Dex making eggs and bacon in baggy sweats and a worn-out t-shirt.  That was something Derek wouldn’t mind waking up to quite often in the future.

 

But that wasn’t going to happen, and what’s worse, Dex had probably flipped out about last night and that definitely meant they needed to talk about it.

 

“Dex,” Derek sighed, setting his mug down.  “About last night—”

 

“Don’t Derek.  Just don’t,” Dex said grimly.  “Not—not while your mom is still here.”

 

Which.  Okay, Dex didn’t want to have his homophobic freak out in front of his mom.  That was fair.

 

“Ow!” Dex winced, recoiling from the stove.

 

“Are you okay?” Derek said, his voice laced with concern, quickly hopping down from the counter and crossing over to where Dex was standing, grimacing as he clutched his hand.

 

“What?  No, yeah, I’m fine it’s nothing,” Dex said hurriedly.  “Just brushed my hand up too close to the pan.  I’ll run it under some cold water and be okay.”

 

“Are you sure?  Cause I think we’ve got like some kinda cream or something for that,” Derek frowned, looking at Dex with more worry visible on his face than was likely a good idea, but he couldn’t help it.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I mean, you already can’t even see it,” Dex said, holding his hand up for Derek to see.  Without thinking, he reached up and grabbed it, inspecting carefully.

 

“Alright, if you say so,” Derek said, eyeing a blushing Dex suspiciously.  “But don’t do it again.  Remember, I’m supposed to be the clumsy one around here,” he added as a half-hearted chirp in an attempt to lighten the strange tension that had settled over them.

 

“Dex, you are an absolute gem!” his mom exclaimed as she entered the kitchen.  “It’s like you can read my mind, I was just thinking I wanted some bacon this morning.”

 

“Mom, when do you ever not want bacon with breakfast?” Derek teased, quickly hugging his mom before retreating to his spot on the counter.

 

“Oh, so that’s where you get it from,” Dex smirked.

 

“Well you know,” Derek shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee.  “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and all that shit.”

 

“Does your mom eat a whole plate of bacon by herself too?” Dex chirped, pulling the strips from the frying pan and carrying them out on a plate to the table.

 

“She could,” Derek murmured, earning a playful smack from his mother as they followed Dex.

 

“You know, if this is the kind of treatment I get when I’m here, I might have to find a way to come visit you two more often,” she grinned as he took a bite of bacon.  “Mmm, perfect, just the right crispiness,” she continued on, not noticing the way Derek kept his eyes trained on his plate or the way Dex frowned and looked everywhere but at Derek.

* * *

They didn’t say much to each other after breakfast when they took off for the game.  Or during strategy.  Or during the actual game, which was one of their worst as a pair.  Or even while they said goodbye to Derek’s mom.  It was.  Well, it was probably official, Derek thought bitterly as they sat, not speaking to each other on their couch.  He had ruined their friendship.

 

When the silence got to be too much to bear, Derek stood up, having decided to go to his room and just.  Hide from Dex for the rest of the year (practice and games excluded).

 

“Derek, wait,” Dex said suddenly, reaching for his arm as he moved to walk past.

 

Derek took a deep breath.  “Yeah?” he replied, not missing the way Dex’s jaw was set and one of his hands was white-knuckling the armrest, or the way he’d used his first name instead of Nursey.  _Shit_.  Dex wasn’t going to ignore him, he was actually going to tell him to fuck off.

 

“I—can you sit down for a minute?”

 

Derek tried to shrug nonchalantly as he plopped down.

 

“Look I—fuck Derek, I’m so sorry.  I—I thought I could do this,” Dex gasped, his breathing abruptly becoming labored.

 

“Chill Dex, it’s completely chill.  I mean, it—it’s totally my fault, and _I’m_ sorry.  I knew it made you uncomfortable and I shouldn’t have even asked you to do it,” Derek sighed, wringing his hands as he stared at the trees, bending under the wind right outside their window.

 

“That’s not why, Derek.  I’m—I wasn’t uncomfortable.  I wouldn’t have done it if I was.”

 

“Oh,” Derek said, turning his head to gaze at Dex blankly.  “Then I don’t understand.  What is this about?”

 

“Uh,” Dex stuttered, biting his lip nervously.  “All weekend I’ve been…you know…and you haven’t said a word about it…and I don’t understand why.”

 

“I don’t—what are you talking about Dex?” Derek questioned, raising his eyebrows quizzically.  Dex was always right to the point with what he had to say, so him being this cryptic was—concerning.

 

“Look, if you’re not interested, just tell me.  I can handle it,” Dex said unsteadily, his eyes starting to glisten as tears threatened to fall.  Which.  _What?_

 

“Interested?  Will, what the fuck?  I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about,” Derek responded sharply, raising his voice ever so slightly as he stared Dex down.

 

“I’ve been trying to woo you all weekend and you haven’t even responded once so if you don’t like me please just tell me,” Dex said, the words coming out so rushed it sounded like one.

 

“W-what?” Derek croaked, falling against the back of the couch in a daze, his heart beating wildly in his chest.  There was no way he heard that right.  “You’ve been trying—t-to woo me?”

 

“Yeah,” Dex nodded, avoiding his eyes.  “D-did you not even realize?”

 

“No,” Derek whispered.  “I just.  Thought you were putting on a show for my mom.  And I was too busy trying to make sure you didn’t notice.”

 

“Notice what?”

 

“That I like you,” Derek answered, his voice barely audible.

 

“You do?” Dex squeaked out, watching him with wide-eyes.

 

Derek nodded, and then Dex was leaning over.  Derek met him halfway, pressing his lips to Dex’s like he’d been dreaming of doing for months.  Dex’s lips were soft (if not slightly chapped), and Derek smiled into the kiss as he put a hand on the back of Dex’s neck.  They were both smiling and breathing heavily by the time they pulled apart.

 

“Wooing me, huh?  What am I, the heroine of a novel set in Victorian England?” Derek chirped with a smirk on his face.  Dex rolled his eyes, but didn’t tell him to shut up.  He _made_ him shut up.  And, yeah.  That was a nice change.

**Author's Note:**

> *Short Epilogue*
> 
> Derek entered the Haus and was immediately met by Bitty.
> 
> "Hey Nursey! How are you doin'?" he asked. "How'd it all go?"
> 
> "Well..." Derek chuckled, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
> 
> "How did what go?" Dex questioned, suddenly appearing behind Derek.
> 
> "I was sort of keeping Bitty in the loop about everything that happened this weekend," Derek explained.
> 
> "Oh. Well in that case..." Dex smirked, grabbing a handful of Derek's shirt and kissing him. "That's how it went."
> 
> "Oh my!" Bitty squeaked, quickly pulling out his phone while Derek grinned bashfully, blushing furiously.


End file.
